ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Civil Aviation
India suspends all flights to and from United Kingdom
Decision taken due to spread of new strain of coronavirus
Flights suspended from 22nd december to 31st december 2020
Mandatory RT-PCR test for passengers in transit flights
Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS, I/C, Civil Aviation has informed that all flights originating from U.K into India will be suspended temporarily from 22nd December to 31st December 2020. He stated that Government of India has decided to take all necessary precautions as a result of the situation arising out of the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in some countries.
Considering the emerging Covid-19 situation in UK, Government of India has decided that all flights to and from UKwill be suspended till 31st December 2020 . This suspension will start w.e.f. 23.59 hours, 22nd December 2020. However, this restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.
Airlines operating flights to India from other countries shall not board any passenger travelling from UK to India and shall ensure that no passenger coming from UK is boarded in a flight for any destination in India either directly or indirectly.
As a measure of precaution, passengers arriving from UK in all transit flights  should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test at the arrival port in India. The passengers found Covid-19 positive on arrival shall be quarantined as per guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and would bear the medical costs incurred.
President's Secretariat
President of India concludes visit to Equatorial Guinea with commitment to developmental partnership; to become first Indian President to travel to Swaziland on second leg of his Africa visit
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, today  concluded his visit to Equatorial Guinea and left for Swaziland for the second leg of his visit to three African nations –Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia. The visit, the first by a President of India to Equatorial Guinea, saw the signing of three MoUs yesterday – in the fields of AYUSH and traditional medicine; medicinal plants; and an action plan for Information and Communication Technology.
The President also issued a media statement before his departure. In his statement, the President said that it was an honour for him to pay the first ever state visit from India to Equatorial Guinea. In his discussions with the President of Equatorial Guinea, they reviewed the spectrum of bilateral relations and discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest. Both sides agreed that they should expand the India-Equatorial Guinea partnership to accelerate growth and development for the people of the two countries.
Later in the day, the President will reach Swaziland in what is also the first-ever visit to that country by a President of India.
Click here for the press statement by the President of India.
Ministry of Power
India hosts Clean Energy Ministerial Senior Officials meeting
Opening session embarks upon discussions on Clean Power, Green Steel and Hydrogen
India and government of UK lead plenary dialogue
India is hosting the Clean Energy Ministerial  senior officials meetings starting today. This will conclude on 08th April. The meeting is being organised to review the work of various work streams in Clean Energy Policies. The meeting will also be used to prepare the agenda for the upcoming Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting in September 2022.
The opening session held today dealt with “Transition Agenda” with welcome remarks by Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Power, followed by a keynote address by the Secretary, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This was followed by discussions on topics such as Clean Power, Green Steel, and Hydrogen.
The Government of the India and the United Kingdom lead the plenary dialogue on the future of Energy Transition. International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency and UN High Level Action Champions presented the emerging findings of the State of Sectoral Transitions  draft report, summarising chosen methodologies and the overall trajectory of their work.
The second session was dedicated to "Scaling-Up Clean Energy Innovation and Actions – Investment Opportunities". This commenced with opening remarks by the session chair, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog. The key speakers for this session were: Director General, International Solar Alliance; Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Power; Advisor, Ministry of Finance; Managing Director and CEO, Invest India; Chairman, IREDA; Chairman and Managing Director, Power Finance Corporation; and Chairman and Managing Director, Rural Electrification Corporation.
The discussion included key interventions by industry representatives like ADB, KfW, WB, Reliance, Adani Green, Dalmia Cement, Tata Cleantech, Hero Future, and Shell Energy, followed by an open house discussion. The session aimed at identifying investment opportunities for clean energy innovation & deployment.
The Clean Energy Ministerial  is a high-level global forum of 29 member countries to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology through sharing of knowledge and best practices with a focus on transition to a global clean energy future. It brings together the world’s leading economies, international organisations and companies to achieve a single mission i.e., to accelerate clean energy transitions.
UPSC
Civil Services  Examination, 2018
The results of the Civil Services  Examination, 2018 were declared vide Press Note dated 05.04.2019 recommending 759 candidates in order of merit for appointment to IAS, IFS, IPS and Central Services Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ against 812 vacancies.
The Commission, in accordance with the Rule 16  &  of the Civil Services Examination Rules, was also maintaining a Consolidated Reserve List in order of merit below the last recommended candidate under the respective categories.
As sought by the Department of Personnel & Training, the Commission has now recommended 53 candidates which include 38 General, 14 OBC and 01 SC, to fill up the remaining posts based on the Civil Services Examination, 2018. Particulars of these candidates are included herewith. The candidates so recommended will be intimated directly by the DOP&T.
The candidature of following candidates bearing Roll No. 1107694 and 0882880 are provisional.
The list of these 53 candidates is also available on the UPSC website i.e. https://www.upsc.gov.in.
Click here for full list
Ministry of Labour & Employment
NCSCDA Organizes job fair in Bhubaneswar
National Career Service Centre for Differently Abled , Directorate General of Employment , Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India had successfully organised an inclusive job fair for both PwDs & Non PwDs today in its office campus at Pokhariput, Bhubaneswar. In the job fair there were vacancies for Locomotor Disability & Speech & Hearing Impaired jobseekers under PwDs category.
This event has been made successful with the active support of various employers such as Scientistic Minds, Garg logistics & Kamalini Associates etc. They have taken interview of around 67 job seekers and shortlisted 63 job seekers including persons with disabilities . In the said job fair around 200 vacancies of different profile were there such as retail sales executive, tele caller, web developer & service engineer etc.
Smt Sonalika Suman, head of office/psychologist of NCSCDA thanked all the employers and job seekers for participating in the event and requested all the employers to recruit more and more PwDs for their organisation. Smt Suman requested them to participate in future job fairs to be organised by this centre to ensure inclusive workplace at every organisation.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Eight Greenfield airports are operationalized
'In-principle' approval accorded for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports
Government of India has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country namely Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Datia  in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida  in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Oravakal  in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi  in Arunachal Pradesh. So far, eight Greenfield airports, namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Oravakal and. Kushinagar have been operationalized.
In-Principle approval has been granted to State Government of Andhra Pradesh in respect of three Greenfield airports viz. Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District, Oravakal in Kurnool District and DagadarthiMendal in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. Out of these, airport at Oravakal in Kurnool District has been operationalized in March, 2021.
The responsibility of implementation of airport projects including funding of the projects rests with the concerned airport developer including Airports Authority of India  and the respective State Government . AAI has undertaken development of airports at Hollongi  and Hirasar  at estimated project costs of Rs. 646 Crore and Rs.1405 Crore respectively. Public Investment Board has recommended the development of Dholera  airport at a cost of Rs.1305 Crore  on 3.12.2021. Estimated Project costs involved In respect of remaining ten Greenfield airports are:-
Mopa , Navi Mumbai , Bijapur , Hassan , Shimoga , Data , Karaikal , Dagadarthi  and Bhogapuram .
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry Of Civil Aviation  V. K. Singh  in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Extension of last date for submission of public comments to 30th July, 2021 for Consultation Paper on Enhancing Engagement with Stakeholders
The National Financial Reporting Authority  has extended the last date for submission of comments on its Consultation Paper titled "Enhancing Engagement with Stakeholders: Report of Technical Advisory Committee " from 10th July, 2021 to 30th July 2021. Consultation paper may be viewed at https://nfra.gov.in/consultation_papers.
The comments may either be submitted by email at comments-tac.paper @nfra.gov.in or sent by post to NFRA Office at:
Secretary
National Financial Reporting Authority
7th Floor, HT House
18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg
New Delhi- 110001
About NFRA
The National Financial Reporting Authority  was constituted on 01st October, 2018 by the Government of India under Sub Section  of Section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013. The main objective of NFRA is to protect the public interest and the interests of investors, creditors and others associated with the companies or bodies corporate governed under NFRA Rules, 2018 by establishing high quality standards of accounting and auditing and exercising effective oversight of accounting functions performed by the companies and bodies corporate and auditing functions performed by auditors.
About Consultation Paper
National Financial Reporting Authority  has set up a Technical Advisory Committee  to, inter alia, provide NFRA with inputs from the perspective of various key stakeholders. The TAC has undertaken a consultative exercise to review NFRA’s engagement with its stakeholders, and has, in its report of March, 2021, recommended ways to enhance the same. Important recommendations of the TAC relate to formation of advisory/consulting groups, institution of fellowship programmes, publication of NFRA’s Inspection Policy, and building up of NFRA’s Regulatory Capacity. Consultation Paper has been prepared and published by NFRA incorporating its preliminary views, and proposed action plan, on the recommendations of the TAC
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Cabinet approves declaration of Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International Airport
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for declaration of Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International Airport.
Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist Cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Lumbini  and declaration as an “International Airport” will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to the air-travellers. It will result in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the regions. It will be an important strategic location with the international border close by.
Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km east of Gorakhpur and is one of the important Buddhist pilgrimage sites.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
General order for extension of time to hold AGM for FY 2019-20
A big Relief is given by Ministry of Corporate Affairs  to around 12 lakhs companies today by extending the timeline for holding Annual General Meeting till December 31st from September 30th.
MCA issued directions to RoCs to issue orders without filing of formal application and payment of fee. Even applications already filed but not approved or rejected are also covered for this relief.
MCA is extending this timeline due to COVID-19 and Meeting the demand from various associations for extending time to hold AGM. This is for the first time that such relief generally is given to all companies.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Italian Republic on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised about the Memorandum of Understanding  between the National Disaster Management Authority  of the Republic of India and the Department of Civil Protection of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
Benefits:
The MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management which was signed between the NDMA of the Republic of India and the Department of Civil Protection of the Presidency of the Council Ministers of the Italian Republic.
The MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Italy will benefit from the Disaster Management mechanisms of each other and it will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building in the field of Disaster Management.
The MoU on cooperation in the Field of Disaster Risk Reduction and management between the NDMA of the Republic of India and the Department of Civil Protection of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic was signed in June, 2021.
Election Commission
Webinar Organised On Technology Aspects of Remote Voting
Election Commission of India, in partnership with Tamil Nadu e-governance Agency organized a webinar on “Technology aspects of remote voting: Exploring Block chain” on 10th August 2020. The webinar brought together technologists, academicians, policy practitioners, cyber security experts from India and around the world. The initial idea for using block chain based voting solution emerged from an initial discussion of Chief Election Commissioner, Sh Sunil Arora, during his visit to Indian Institute of Technology, Madras on 30th October 2019.
Election Commissioner Sh Sushil Chandra delivered the keynote address in the webinar. Sh Chandra stressed upon the importance of ensuring greater “inclusiveness in elections.” He emphasized that a large number of voters are unable to exercise their franchise on account of a geographical barrier. By virtue of occupation, education, medical treatment or other reasons, there have been instances of current residence of such electors being different from the place of registration in electoral rolls. Sh Chandra however emphasised that in designing a technology based solution, the primary consideration should be the ability to “inspire trust of all stakeholders, assure integrity of electoral process and secrecy and inviolability of ballot.” Political parties, he felt, need to be reassured that the system is tamper proof and secure. Remote voting, Sh Chandra said, marks a departure from conventional polling station, which was tied to a geographical location. However, he clarified that the Commission is not envisioning internet based voting from home. Remote voting project aspires for enablement of voters residing in remote locations, away from their designated polling stations, to cast ballot in a secured fashion. Sh Chandra expressed optimism that deliberations amongst experts will help the Commission in designing a robust remote voting model which is more inclusive and empowering.
More than 800 people signed up for the webinar from around the world. Speakers drew upon global experience of blockchain technology, dwelling upon possibilities of scalability; issues of data privacy and regulation; data security; authentication and verifiability. The webinar was addressed by Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India, Prof K Vijay Raghavan, Director of IIT Bhilai, Prof Rajat Moona, Director of IIT Madras, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi. Sandra Ro, CEO of Global Blockchain Business council, Monique Bachner, Member of International Association for Trusted Blockchain applications, Ismael Arribas, President of Kunfud Spanish chapter of Government Blockchain application also addressed different sessions.
The webinar was convened by Deputy Election Commissioner, Sh Ashish Kundra, in charge of the IT division, ECI as part of a wider consultation exercise with various stakeholders to dwell on different aspects of remote voting.
Ministry of Finance
Source to know the Type of Bank Account
The Basic Savings Bank Deposit  Accounts are designed as savings accounts, which offer certain minimum facilities free of charge. There is no requirement of maintaining a minimum balance in such accounts.
Individual Public Sector Banks  have their own helpline/toll free numbers. Most of these banks are providing accounts related information, including the nature of accounts through this facility. Besides, the type of account is also printed on the passbook provided by some banks to their customers. The customer can also view the details of the account using Internet Banking Facility.
The Government, as such, does not maintain any helpline number or any other source to inform customers of individual banks about their account details.
This was stated by the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharamanin a written reply to a Parliament Question in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Education
Shri Sanjay Dhotre launches NIOS Diploma course in Yogic Science on International Day of Yoga 2021
Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre launched NIOS Diploma course in Yogic Science on the occasion of International Day of Yoga today. The Minister released the self-instructional material of the course. The Minister congratulated NIOS for offering such vocational courses to the learners.
Highlighting about the significance of Yoga especially during covid, Shri Dhotre said it has resulted in creating many employment opportunities. The course in Yogic science launched today will help those who pass out of the course to become a job provider rather than a job seeker. The Minister also reiterated the laudable effort of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in declaring June 21st as the International Day of Yoga.
Delivering her remarks the Chairperson of NIOS informed that the two-year Diploma programme has five subjects in the first year in which Yoga Teaching Training will be taught and in the second year five subjects related to Yoga Therapy will be taught.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Coconut Development Board establishes Call Centre for FoCT palm climbers
Coconut Development Board is planning to establish a call centre for Friends of Coconut Tree  palm climbers at Head Quarter, Kochi. The call centre will cater to the needs of coconut growers in the field of plant protection, harvesting and other field operations through Task Force of FoCTs. FoCTs who are actively involved in palm climbing are requested to join in the Task Force at the earliest for availing the benefits related to this sector. Task Force of FoCTs will be engaged for carrying out several operations in coconut sector at each Grama Panchayath level through Call Centre.
For further details please contact Publicity Section, Coconut Development Board, Kochi. Email Id: cdbpub[at]gmail[dot]com, phone : 0484–2376265 /8848061240.
YP/GP/JD
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Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Online Dashboard of PM SVANidhi launched
One stop solution for information sharing and monitoring of scheme
Over 7.15 lakh applications received under the scheme; more than 1.7 lakh sanctioned
Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs launched the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi  online dashboard today, through video conferencing.
The online dashboard is dynamic, interactive and would provide a one stop solution to all stakeholders looking for information and tracking monitoring of progress of PM SVANidhi up to city level.
Since the commencement of online submission of applications on PM SVANidhi portal on 2nd July 2020, more than 7.15 lakh applications have been received and over 1.70 lakh have been sanctioned in different States and UTs.
PM SVANidhi was launched by the Ministry on June 01, 2020, for providing affordable working capital loan to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. This scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh Street Vendors who had been vending on or before 24 March, 2020, in urban areas including those from surrounding peri-urban/rural areas. Under the Scheme, the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis. There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan. The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash-back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month. The vendors can achieve their ambition of going up the economic ladder by availing the facility of enhancement of the credit limit on timely/ early repayment of loan.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Awareness of Menstrualhygiene
The Government of India is supporting States/UTs for the implementation of Menstrual Hygiene Scheme for Adolescent Girls  as per proposal received from the States/UTs in their Program Implementation Plans.
The scheme encompasses the following:
- Increasing awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene
- Improving access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins by adolescent girls residing primarily in rural areas.
- Ensuring safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environmentally friendly manner
- Provision of funds to ASHAs to hold monthly meetings with adolescents to discuss issues related to menstrual hygiene.
A range of IEC material has been developed around maintenance of good menstrual health, using 360 degree approach to create awareness among adolescent girls about safe and hygienic menstrual health practices which includes audio, video and reading materials for adolescent girls and job-aids for ASHAs and other field level functionaries for communicating with adolescent girls.
There is no provision for free distribution of sanitary napkins under the Scheme. Adolescent girls are provided sanitary napkins at a subsidized rate through the ASHAs
The Minister of State , Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, here today.